


A Gem and Her Pearl - (Rose)

by Potential Violet (Potential_Violet)



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Choices, Comfort, Delusion, Discrimination, Gem Homeworld, Gen, Mathematical Optimization, Nervousness, Servants, Showroom, Underwater
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-06-01
Packaged: 2018-03-29 04:53:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3883024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Potential_Violet/pseuds/Potential%20Violet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blue Diamond forces Rose Quartz to get a pearl, changing Rose's life, the pearl's life and the course of Gem history. All relationships begin somewhere, this is the beginning of Rose and Pearl's.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Perk Most Fateful

_For:_  
_Rebecca Sugar,_  
_all the others who make the show what it is,_  
_my fellow fans,_  
_and anyone who has yet to find what they're looking for._

* * *

Rose wasn't happy about Blue Diamond's request to see her; it wasn't that she had a problem with authority, or _the_ Authority (much), or even Blue Diamond herself, but no-one ever said what the meetings were going to be about, and she always found herself unnecessarily thinking over everything she'd done in the recent past. This time she was alright: apart from sending fast probes to a nearby star system purely out of interest, there was nothing she could think of that might call for disciplinary action.

"You can go in now, she's ready for you." said Larimar, Blue Diamond's personal assistant, "Good luck." she whispered conspiratorially.

"Thanks." Rose whispered in reply.

…

Behind the big desk in the centre of the room sat a tiny Gem, Empress Blue Diamond, Goddess of the Turbulent Waters… and such and such (Rose didn't think too highly of her pomposity, even if it was understandable). Though she had met many Gems of a similar size — employed in tasks of all magnitudes — it still made Rose smile to think that a Gem of such power was barely even half her height. But what the smallest of the three ruling Diamonds lacked in size, she definitely made up for in force of personality.

"Oh, Rose! Good to see you again! How has my favourite pink Gem been keeping?"

"Well, thank you, Empress. And yourself?"

"Never better, darling, never better." said the smaller Gem with a dismissive and exaggerated wave of her hand, "You say you're well but honestly, you look like you're about to be shattered! There's no need to look so serious, you're not here for anything you've done wrong."

"I'm pleased to hear that." said Rose with an internal sigh of relief.

"So, can you guess what you _are_ here for?"

"No... Unless this is about the—"

"The Pearls, Rose, this is _all_ about the pearls; and how you don't seem to have any yet. Why not?"

…

'Pearls?' she thought to herself, 'You summoned me here to talk about pearls? I took the afternoon off so you could talk to me about pearls?' An inward groan just didn't express the depth of her disappointment.

Rose thought the concept of pearls was an ingenious one, however simple: if instead of implanting a seed crystal into a layer of suitable rock one placed it into the soft tissue of a giant clam (or other appropriately sized shelled mollusc), a new Gem would form in a comparable way, under the right conditions.

It was normally a cause for celebration when new Gems were inducted into the community, but not with the pearls. Many viewed only 'natural' Gems as true citizens, and so like most kindergarten Gems, the pearls were treated as second class — somehow worth less than other Gems because of their formation. But while it was relatively easy to mass produce Gems in a kindergarten, pearl production was a lot more difficult, making pearls rarer and so highly sought after. Only the best people (high-ranking poseurs) received pearls…

As Gems, they could never be said to be owned by anyone, but in Rose's eyes what happened in reality amounted to the same thing. Though they had free will, they never seemed to apply it; to her it looked like they accepted — and in a few cases even appeared to take pride in — being ordered around by someone else. Unpaid, unthanked, unloved and underrated servants: a whole subgroup of lost Gems. On a good day she found the whole concept saddening, and on a bad day, cruel. She had vowed never to get a pearl on principle, but explaining her reasoning to Blue Diamond was not something she considered a fruitful use of her time.

…

"I just don't need one: my workload is fine, my home life is fine... It's not really necessary for me."

Blue Diamond suddenly took on a very serious, searching expression, and for a brief moment Rose thought that she could tell there was more to it than her explanation suggested. Maybe it was a stray thought, maybe she was just 'eccentric', but quickly the seriousness melted back into a friendly smile and Blue Diamond continued with what she was getting at.

"Don't need a pearl? Nonsense! You're one of the Authority's top spotters; it wouldn't be fitting for a Gem in your position to be seen doing the kind of humdrum tasks that I'm _sure_ you find yourself doing from time to time." Rose could only smile politely — and more than a bit awkwardly — as Blue Diamond guffawed at her own… wit. Totally unfazed by the response of her audience, she ploughed on.

"No, I won't hear of it. You need at least one and you simply must get it, I insist."

"With all due respect this really isn't necess—"

"Nonononono, darling! The real disrespect would be refusing my hospitality... Is it the cost you're unhappy with? Because that really isn't a problem. I'm so _for_ you getting one that you can consider it a gift from me, for all your hard work!"

"Thank you, but—"

"No buts! It's sorted now. Gosh, you play so hard to get... Rose, you've got to learn to relax, live a little… let your hair down!" she said, gesturing towards Rose's voluminous pink curls, and promptly bursting into laughter.

"But seriously, when you get a few moments free I want you to have a look at the online catalogue and find yourself a pearl that you like. As we speak they're preparing the latest group for exchange you know, you could even get one of those if they take your fancy." she said proudly. "When you've picked one just send me the form and I'll have it delivered to you… like **that**!" She clapped loudly and suddenly in front of Rose's face, making her jump. Her startled expression was enough to get Blue Diamond laughing again, and Rose waited patiently for her to stop so she could make a request.

"Actually I—"

"Rose, please don't try my patience, I'm trying to be nice here." she said with an icy air. With unsettling clarity, Rose was reminded of exactly why the little Gem was feared across the galaxy, and why sometimes it was best just to let the Authority have its petty victories… Sometimes…

…

Rose knew that Blue Diamond wasn't going to give in on this one; for some unknown reason she wanted Rose to have a pearl, and so she was going to be getting a pearl. While she didn't want someone following her around because they felt obliged to, it would be nice to have an assistant, if she could find one to her taste — and just because they could be used as servants, that didn't mean they _had_ to be… Yes, that was what she'd do: get a pearl to keep the Authority at bay, and then decide exactly what to do with them later.

…

"Well?"

"Forgive me, Empress, I was just going ask if I could go to the Nacrarium and select a pearl in person."

Blue Diamond raised her eyebrows in obvious surprise, before her face was overtaken by a wide grin.

"Go there in person... Alright. Good on you, charming idea, charming! Embracing progress or whatever! Excellent! Use my warp pad to take you straight there, and I'll let them know the details."

"Actually, I wasn't planning on going now, Empress."

"Nonsense! There's no time like the present! It'll give you and your new 'friend' ample time to get acquainted… As always, it's been a pleasure, Rose. Keep up the good work and I hope to see you soon, I do _so_ enjoy our little chats."

'It's a _really_ good thing I took the afternoon off…' Rose thought with rising irritation.

"Thank you, Empress. As do I," well… it was sort of true, in a way. A small way…

"You're too kind, darling, _far_ too kind. Now, get going."

Their meeting concluded, Blue Diamond opened her holographic screen and turned away from Rose, who made her way across the room, stood on the warp pad and disappeared in a column of white and teal light.


	2. The Nacrarium

When her feet had returned to solid ground and the pillar of light had dissipated, Rose stepped off the warp pad. She found herself in a spacious lobby, well lit by the hidden lights that had been strategically placed around the room. To her right was a huge window that went from the floor to the ceiling in a gentle, backwards curve — one of many that made up the transparent arc that served as a wall.

The water outside was so clear that she could see for miles: she saw coral of a million different colours, fish going about their business and large, rocky structures that made obstacle courses and hiding places for them. Light filtered through the ocean's surface, creating patterns and shapes that danced across the white sand. 'I could do with a view like this from my window…' she thought to herself. Below — extending from a lower floor across the seabed — she could see the Ocean Walk, the public path to and from the Nacrarium ('not that Nacrarium customers would _ever_ be seen here in person', she thought disapprovingly).

For all its size, the lobby was practically empty: aside from the central counter and two long, cushioned seats following the curve of the windows, there was nothing but a single large ornament. In front of Rose was a near perfect recreation of the building she currently stood in, somebody – or somebodies – had captured all nine floors of the shell shaped edifice with incredible accuracy, either carving the whole thing out of some truly monstrous pearl, or somehow giving the model that same pearlescent sheen. Either way, she imagined that whoever made it was most pleased with themself.

When she had finished appreciating the artwork she walked up to the circular counter, ready to do what she had come for. There were two Gems stationed behind it and given their location, snow-white skin and big, expressive eyes, Rose immediately suggested that they were pearls. There was one with a sharp chin, high-cheekbones and dark, iridescent eyes; her shiny black hair was drawn up into a smart looking crown braid, with barely a stand out of place. Her co-worker was surprisingly wide (for a pearl) and as if to make a contrast, the edges of her round face were very soft, and framed by a multitude of thick, blonde corkscrew curls. In addition to their pencil dresses, they both wore warm, welcoming smiles.

"Hello," they said in unison.

"Good afternoon, ma'am. My name is Ink." said the dark haired one cheerfully, "How may I be of service?"

"I'm supposed to be getting a pearl and I'd like to select one in person."

"Oh, wonderful!" the pair exclaimed excitedly, "That's really nice, it's very rare to see a client down here. I hope that you'll find all of our units meet your personal standards." said the blonde.

"Uh… I'm sure I will. Thank you."

"You're welcome." they said. Their smiles were so sweet and their manner so cheery that Rose had to smile, even though she still didn't really want to be there.

"Ma'am, may I have your name please?" said Ink. The blonde sat down at a nearby screen.

"Rose Quartz of Pentagonal Facet, of the House of Quartz, of the Town in the Cove Favoured by the Third Moon, Planetary Spotter, First Class." She was proud of her name; it wasn't anywhere near as extravagant as a lot of other Gems, but it got the job done.

The blonde typed on her keyboard for a few moments before gesturing for Ink to take a look. She turned back to Rose:

"Okay so we've received the Empress's notification and added you to the database. Congratulations on becoming our newest collector!" she beamed at her.

"Collector?"

"Yes, ma'am. It started as a joke amongst those who exchanged for a unit, but at some point they made it the official title."

"Oh." Rose wasn't pleased about her new title, its unfortunate implications had either gone unnoticed, or weren't a concern to those who used it.

"So, if you'll kindly come with me please, ma'am, I'll escort you to one of the upper floors where the units are being held. Is there any particular series you're interested in?"

"I was told that there were some being prepared for 'exchange'?" she inquired.

…

Rose saw it like this: if the Authority was going to interfere with people's lives (even more than usual) and strong-arm her into getting a pearl, then she'd make them pay for it. Blue Diamond seemed only too happy to suggest that she get one of the newest series, but if she secretly held the notion that Rose would try to spend as little of their money as possible… well, she was going to receive a lovely surprise, wasn't she?

…

"Oh yes, the seven series. Excellent choice, ma'am."

"Mmm. Thank you."

"They've been very successful with the series sevens; it's the first series to introduce new unit colours. You could potentially be the first with a pink one!" Ink explained happily, looking up at her pink mane with a smile.

Behind the counter was a wall, an actual wall, obscuring the view of the centre of the room. After saying goodbye to the other Gem (whose name Rose learned was Moll), Ink led her along the curve of the inner wall to a part of the room that she hadn't seen before. In reality, this part of the room was exactly the same as the part that they'd just left, with the exception of a wide spiral slope, leading up to the Nacrarium's higher floors. As they ascended, Rose decided to find out more about her guide.

"Ink."

"Yes ma'am."

"Are you a pearl?"

"Yes, ma'am, indeed I am." she replied proudly.

"Then how does it make you feel, what you're doing here; helping me find a pearl?"

She looked at Rose with a bemused expression, which changed to a big smile before she responded. "I feel very lucky, ma'am; it makes me so happy to know that I'm helping others like myself find a home on the surface."

"Doesn't it bother you that you get… bought?" she asked with a concerned look on her face.

"Not at all, ma'am. That people are willing to exchange such huge sums for one of us can only be a good thing. Forgive me if this sounds conceited, but pearls bring something to the surface that no other Gems can, we do things in a way that other Gems can't. It's an honour to be selected to go to the surface, and it makes us proud to live up to, and then exceed the high standards they expect from us."

…

Rose was horrified at the revelation, 'How could she believe that?' she asked herself. Was that genuinely how pearls saw things? 'Probably', she thought, feeling a little sick.

No, that just wouldn't do… wouldn't do at all. Surely there would be at least one pearl that was different in the building. Unless… Very quickly the Nacrarium seemed a lot more sinister than its attractive exterior suggested — she knew that there was something wrong about the treatment of the pearls, but now she realised that the source of the problem might be more closely related to this place than it was to the Gems back on land.

A chilling thought struck her: what if the only pearls that ever got a chance to be sold were the most easily manipulated ones? If that was the case then what happened to the ones with a different outlook on life? Slowly, sickness turned to anger, 'How can Gems allow this to happen to other Gems?' she wondered. The pearls could be so much more than they were currently allowing themselves to be, all they needed was to be shown the way.

Suddenly it became clear what she was going to do with her pearl: even if it took her a thousand years she would show them that they could aspire to more, through her they would become an example to the other pearls of what life _could_ be like if they thought about it differently. But she'd still have to pick one first…

…

"…took us _hours_ to find them. But a few years from now they should hopefully calm down a lot."

Rose had no doubt that whatever Ink was saying was absolutely fascinating, but what she said earlier begged another question:

"So you're saying that _all_ the pearls here hope to be selected to go to the surface?"

"That's right ma'am."

"Then why are you and Moll still here?"

She smiled broadly and clapped her hands, "I must thank you for taking such an interest in me, ma'am. As to your question: as pearls, we form very deep attachments to those around us, given long enough. Normally our desire to go to the surface outweighs our desire to stay here with any of the others, but very occasionally that doesn't happen and unit concerned is shattered," she explained nonchalantly. "Moll was chosen to go to the surface, and she wanted me to come too, but that client had chosen a single, specific unit. They explained to the client what had happened and took us for shattering, but in the end they decided that it would be a better use of resources if we both stayed to deal with the clients, and help to mentor those that came after us."

"Ohhhhh, that's beautiful, Ink. I wish you both every happiness."

…

It was awful to think that they could be shattered for something as something as natural as that, but she was glad that at least these two had managed to survive the process, even if it had done nothing to change Ink's way of thinking. It strengthened her resolve though: liberating her pearl was going to be very rewarding, and potentially world changing. She smiled at the thought.

…

"Thank you, ma'am." she said, blushing a vivid, sky blue. Rose had never seen a pearl do that before and she chuckled at her reaction.

"Are there any other pearls that work here?"

"Actually, everyone that works here is a pearl. When the two series was ready for exchange they slowly phased out the other types of Gem: once they taught us how to do everything, there was no need for them," she said with that same pride she showed earlier. "Now we get minimal instruction from outside. Perfect timing!" she exclaimed cheerily.

As Ink had finished illuminating her they had arrived on the seventh floor. The second floor — the one that she had warped onto — was mostly empty space, this one was mostly hidden space: she could see two heavy looking stone doors, one close in front and one to the right; entrances to whatever room or rooms took up most of this floors space.

"Are you excited about seeing the units?" Ink asked her, clearly excited herself.

"There's anticipation, Ink, but I can't decide if it's positive or negative. But I came here to select a pearl so please, after you."

"Yes, ma'am." she grinned, pushing open the door to the front.

…

Rose had never seen so many pearls in one place... On the surface, if their business took them in to the same area then they'd talk in pairs, threes or fours at a maximum — here there were eight. As soon as she entered the room they'd turned to stare at her, as though controlled by the same unseen force. With the same unsmiling expressions, eight pairs of big, pastel coloured eyes brimming with curiosity watched her intently. She found it a little unsettling.

Of the eight there were five white ones, two pink ones and a single green one; but all of them shared the same slender, long-limbed build, hair the same colour as their skin, and the same ethereal beauty. Their obvious similarity to each other and Ink made Rose feel like the odd one out, but she smiled — everyone couldn't be the same, and that made the world more interesting. Considering that they'd never been to the surface she was surprised how well dressed they were, the pearls had clearly been studying current Gem fashions (she wondered if they gave them literal lessons in that down here). At the same time it had to be said that their clothes were the same colour as their skin, something that gave the group the appearance of uniformity.

Ink spoke to them:

"Series seven, this is Rose Quartz. She's a planetary spotter and a new collector. One of you will be going to the surface with her today, so please give her a good impression of us."

When she'd started to speak the pearls had all turned to face Ink just as mechanically as they had turned to face Rose when she'd entered the room, but after Rose's job was mentioned one of them took a second glance at the pink-haired Gem out of the corners of her eyes. It was something so slight as to be imperceptible under normal circumstances, but her deviation from the perfect stillness of the others was what made it noticeable. This one had her gem — a white button pearl — in the middle of her forehead, captivating light-blue eyes and a pointed, cone-like nose. Dressed in a kimono with a shimmering, floaty skirt, Rose thought she looked very elegant — standing out even from her well styled familiars.

…

Like some switch had been flicked in their minds, the series sevens each came to greet Rose with a 'good afternoon' and a respectful curtsey (something which she found entirely unnecessary). They seemed to get the measure of Rose very quickly, because before long they were talking to her animatedly about her visit, the weather before she arrived and what she'd seen from the second floor window; all with a minimum of the formality that she had often seen pearls dealt with.

She'd never spoken to a pearl at length before today, but from spending time with them she learned that they were incredibly talkative — given the opportunity — and knowledgeable in a wide range of topics. What she found odd was how their ideas were very fact based: considering something beyond what _exactly_ had happened was not something that pearls appeared to do much of. They were extremely polite and very likeable, but Rose felt there was something missing — a depth to them that just wasn't there. As she talked to them she started to question whether her plan would work; she could treat them as well as any other Gem but if there wasn't much thought dedicated to how or why something happened, then how could she start to change those thoughts?

She sighed, considering whether she might have more luck with one of the older series, which caused the pearl currently speaking to pause.

"I'm sorry, don't mind that. What were you saying?" The pearl smiled sweetly and continued speaking.

Apart from the one that was speaking they all looked at Rose with contented looks on their faces, as though it was her telling them a story and not the other way round. All of them except one (again)… It was the same one as last time, the one with the sharp nose, looking at Rose with an analytical look on her face. As soon she saw Rose looking at her the pearl altered her expression to one more like that of the others, but the look didn't quite suit her: it was as though she had to make an effort to craft the appearance that the others had managed naturally. She smiled at the pearl, who smiled nervously in response. Nervousness was not something she'd associated with pearls before…

The more Rose noticed her, the more the pearl seemed to try and blend in with the others, which wasn't working very well because it only made her stand out more. She laughed quietly to herself — it was a little mean, the pearl was obviously distressed by what was being done to her (or alternatively, not being done to all of the others), but if she thought that she meant her any harm then she couldn't have been more wrong. Then it occurred to her that maybe this pearl didn't want — as Ink had said — to go to the surface, but if that was true then she must have a different view of what went on up there, which made it even more important for her to be liberated from the Nacrarium today. If anyone else noticed what she was seeing then the poor Gem would probably end up being shattered. She couldn't let that happen.

Her mind was practically made up, but Rose's inner scientist wouldn't allow her to take her chosen pearl without some form of test. She wanted to be absolutely sure that she was making the right choice, but just in case she wasn't then she didn't want to give anyone reason to shatter any of these Gems. If she wanted to test them then she was going to have to get rid of Ink for a few minutes…

…

Rose stood up from the floor and the pearls rose with her. She walked purposefully over to Ink's position in the corner (from which she'd been overseeing their interaction) and made a request:

"Ink, I'd like to take a closer look at them if you don't mind. In private."

"Ermm... I'm not sure if that's allowed, ma'am... You might be a saboteur… or something." she said worriedly.

Rose sighed.

"Really, do I look like a saboteur to you? Do I _sound_ like a saboteur to you?"

Rose's response made her blush for the second time that day

"I've never seen a saboteur before... I don't think... But really, unauthorised persons aren't usually allowed unsupervised contact with the units before they've been exchanged."

'Fair enough,' Rose thought, but she had always been good at making people see her way of thinking, Ink was going to be no exception. 'Besides,' she said to herself, 'I'm only going to give them a little test, and that's nothing compared to whatever goes on down here.'

"I've been sent here by Blue Diamond herself to get a pearl, and I've been most impressed by you and the 'units' so far… Don't you want to make sure I'll be totally satisfied with my choice?"

"Oh… Ummm… Yes, of course. Sorry, ma'am." she said, plainly flattered and possibly a little scared.

"Thank you." Rose replied. "I'll come and call you when I've made my choice. This shouldn't take too long; you have nothing to worry about." she said warmly, trying to reassure Ink. The black-haired Gem took a last look at the other pearls and then at Rose; seemingly satisfied that nothing negative would come out of her decision, she smiled.

"I'll be just outside, ma'am." she said. And with that, she departed.

…


	3. A Gem Among Gems

As soon as Ink left, the members of series seven turned to look at Rose expectantly. Being alone with a stranger was definitely something that had never happened to them before — Rose could tell from the way that they steadily inched closer to each other, until they were huddled together in front of her. She laughed, they were so effortlessly adorable… but at the same time it broke her heart to know that eventually they would be separated from each other, and that she was going to play a part in that, even if she did have good intentions.

"Pearls, why don't you talk amongst yourselves for a minute. I'll be with you very soon." She sat on the floor again and closed her eyes, focusing on her plan. The pearls did as suggested and soon their chatter could be heard throughout the room.

…

Rose went over the elements of the test in her mind.

First and foremost she was going to have to be subtle: the last thing she wanted was to give these Gems the idea that she was going to be choosing one of them through a test, and so introduce them to feelings of hostility towards one another, or make them feel pressured. She supposed that it wasn't _really_ a test, just a little something for her to confirm what she already pretty sure of.

Then there was the question of what form the not-test would take. She wanted something that was easily conveyed, that would make any differences between their ways of thinking obvious. Asking personal questions could be interesting, but if the nervous pearl was trying not to be noticed then she would give the kind of answers one might expect from a pearl. That wouldn't do.

Since their capacity to consider things beyond the facts was something that Rose was trying to gauge, an exercise in creativity might be appropriate. Getting them to draw or write about something that didn't exist would probably work, but she wanted to pose the task in a way that would appeal to their nature — that would be difficult with a subject with no basis in reality.

A puzzle was probably better, one that could be easily solved, but in a variety of ways… No, what Rose was trying to get out of them wasn't the answer itself — actually, the answer was almost irrelevant — but originality in the thought used to find it.

'Come on, come on, come on,' she thought, willing herself to think of a workable idea, 'try to see things through their eyes.' She'd have to if she was going to prepare something that served her purpose, but that was easier said than done as nearly everything knew about them she had learned that afternoon. 'Goodness,' she thought to herself, 'I wonder if anyone else has ever put this much thought into choosing a pearl…' Somehow she doubted it very much.

She liked the idea of a puzzle, or a problem… That was it! She would create one with one _logical_ solution and see how they individually approached it.

Once she had decided on the form of the exercise, its specifics came to her very quickly. It was now just a matter of describing it to them.

She opened her eyes.

…

"Pearls." she addressed them firmly but gently, not needing to raise her voice to capture their attention.

"Yes, ma'am." they acknowledged simultaneously.

"I was wondering if you might be able to help me with something." Instantly they perked up, all eight of them verbally expressing their readiness to assist Rose as best they could.

"Great, I was hoping you would." she smiled at them. They smiled back but remained silent, listening a bit more intently for whatever was coming next.

"What I'd like you to do is have go at a small problem I've been presented with. It'd really help me out if I could see how someone else tries to solve it. Could you all please get something to write with and write on and then I'll explain it to you."

Rose had expected them to go and retrieve stationery from somewhere, but instead they each took on a meditative expression and made a series of personal hand gestures. Within seconds their gems were all glowing and shortly after that, eight notepads and eight pens were drifting out of interdimensional storage. As quickly as it had begun the light show ended.

"Ah," said Rose, laughing to herself, "well now that _that's_ taken care of, please listen carefully."

…

Rose described to them a situation where three different substances were extracted in different proportions, by plants on five different planets in the Solar System. The substances were sold by the unit in their given proportions as fuels, and there were restrictions on the number of units each plant could sell. She also gave them the prices that the fuels were bought for on Homeworld, costs associated with separating the fuels before sale and other information.

…

"All that said, how could we go about making the most money? I'll give you some time now to see what you can come up with."

With that, she allowed the pearls to carry out the task. As they worked she looked at each of them in turn; she saw so much potential in them and their strange ways, and she wondered what they would do if the place was suddenly closed down (for a fleeting moment she had the loveliest idea that they might all like to go back with her, but perhaps that was just wishful thinking).

All of them had their heads down and appeared to be totally focused on the problem. If they were like this with every task given to them — which wasn't difficult to imagine — then it was mystifying why people would pay so much to have them carry out mundane tasks (though they _did_ make those tasks look good, maybe that was where the money went…), when they could be taught how to do things of much greater complexity.

Movement to her right brought Rose back to the room: the pearl she was hoping to rescue from the Nacrarium had stopped writing and was looking straight at her. Her face suggested that she was on the verge of saying something, but as Rose opened her mouth to ask if anything was wrong, the pearl lowered her head and went back to writing. About five minutes later she stopped again and put down her pen with an air of finality. 'Is she finished, or has she given up?' Rose wondered, intrigued as to what she was going to do next.

The pearl took a pensive, sidelong glance at the others, and with a determined look on her face brought up a holographic model from her glowing gem. Rose immediately recognised the model as a section of the Solar System, with Homeworld at one edge of the spherical diagram and one of the outer planets and its terraformed moon at the other; between these were two of the planets that she'd described in the problem. The nervous pearl appeared to be estimating the distances between the five objects, an action that made Rose smile. The other pearls seemed not to care that one of their number was doing something that they weren't, because after looking at the source of the light they went straight back to what they were doing.

Whatever it was she had been trying to figure out had obviously been figured out, because the hologram receded into her head. Rose thought that the pearl looked rather pleased with herself, which she took as a promising sign.

She waited another few minutes before deciding that it was time to see the results.

"Pearls, you can stop writing now, thank you for doing this for me. I saw you all concentrating very hard, did any of you manage to find a solution?"

"No, ma'am. We've never seen anything like that before; I didn't even know where to begin. I'm sorry that I couldn't be of greater assistance." said a pearl with red eyes. The others quickly followed with words to the same effect. After the rest had spoken, the pearl that Rose had such high hopes for anxiously made her contribution:

"Actually, I found a solution, ma'am."

…

Although she had a faint smile, she looked terrified at the same time: every so often she would run a hand through her hair — achieving nothing except untidying it — or change her position slightly, only to change it back seconds later. It was obvious there was more to what she'd just said than she wanted to reveal, but from her flustered appearance Rose knew that it wasn't going to be long before she found out what it was.

She was genuinely surprised to hear that the pearl had found a solution; she had expected her view of the exercise to be unique, but if she really had come up with a correct answer then she would _have_ to find out more about her.

…

"You did?" Rose asked, "Well done. May I have a look?"

"Ummm… yes, certainly ma'am," she said, holding out the sheet of paper to Rose. "The basic solution works, but I'm sure it could be optimised further —if I had more time." she added hastily.

Rose had barely started looking at the pearl's answer when she spoke again.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

"Yes?"

"I'm so sorry to interrupt, but my solution might— will be a waste of your time… for what you're trying to achieve."

"What makes you say that?"

The pearl blushed.

"I… ahh… I don't mean to offend you, but the whole problem is…" she hesitated.

"Is..." said Rose with an encouraging smile.

"…Well, it needs to be reformulated if you want to maximise profit effectively. My solution works, but if you apply it to the system as it stands your gains will be at least three orders of magnitude smaller than they could be… In its current form the very idea is virtually self-defeating." As soon as she had spoken the words her eyes went wide, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. The other pearls stared at her in disbelief. Rose had to try her hardest to stifle a laugh.

"Oh dear, I see… So what would you advise?" she asked. _This_ was what Rose had been waiting for.

The pearl probably would have looked less shocked if Rose had slapped her, but it didn't last long. As though she was restarting, she exchanged astonishment for a thoroughly businesslike demeanour, and after a pause to collect her thoughts she began lecturing to her students about the problems with the problem.

…

Rose had thought the whole test through carefully, and had chosen two substances out of the three in such a way that almost anyone could see they were _least_ profitable if sold as fuels. This apparent oversight allowed for a much simpler, more obvious solution to the task, and gave her an alternative way of testing the pearls if for some (bizarre) reason they had encountered optimisation in their learning. It was this flaw that the nervous pearl had noticed and was now correcting (in a most comprehensive fashion, Rose had to add).

She listened carefully to what the pearl had to say. With every word the pale Gem was getting more and more enthusiastic: it was as though she genuinely enjoyed explaining the correct answer to her captive audience. Her logic was undeniable, and the delivery of her arguments was clear and confident — Rose was seeing a totally different side to the ever more fascinating pearl.

When she'd concluded her explanation, she fell quiet. A split second later she seemed to have realised something because her expression changed to one of abject terror, as though she'd made some irrevocable mistake.

There was absolutely no mistake; Rose now had no doubt that this was the pearl for her, and she felt enormously proud of her for some reason she couldn't quite explain.

…

"Hmmm," Rose said, unable to stop smiling, "In that case I'm very lucky that that you're here. Your insight, it's truly invaluable... I can't thank you enough for bringing this to my attention."

The pearl blushed again, two intensifying patches of turquoise that rapidly coloured her cheeks. Her fearful look was buried under a contented smile — totally unable as she was to show anything but pride in response to what Rose had said.

"Thank you, ma'am. I'm glad that I was able to help."

"I'd still like to see the working that the rest of you did." Rose said, turning to the other pearls. She had decided which pearl she was going to take to the surface with her, but if there were any other hidden gifts within their group then she wanted to know about it: each of these pearls mattered to her, but any with an atypical way of thinking would be more useful in the eventual liberation of the others.

The pearls were all too happy to hand over what they'd done, and it only took Rose a few moments to run through their results. It turned out exactly as she'd expected: they'd all decided that the necessary pieces of information could all be assigned a symbol, but they simply had no clue what to do with the symbols once they got them; for all their focus they'd only managed to rewrite the question, their attempts to solve it were just systematic applications of all the maths they appeared to know already. By contrast, 'her' pearl had started to do what she herself would have done; Rose hadn't solved the problem herself, but the pearl's method was exactly right (up to the point she'd got to), so Rose had confidence that her answer was too.

'Wow,' she thought, taking another look at the nervous pearl. She had managed to generate a correct answer in ten minutes, Rose wondered what she would achieve in ten years, or ten centuries, with her mind free to pursue any subject it wished… She considered telling the pearl how impressed she was, but decided against it because of her reactions so far: a compliment like that might make her dissipate her form…

"I'm going to call Ink now," she told the group. "I just wanted to thank you all again for your effort, and tell you how nice it's been to meet you all. I couldn't have a better impression of you. I really hope that you'll be happy on the surface when you leave here."

They all smiled now.

…

Rose pulled on the solid stone door, poking her head through the gap and looking around for Ink. She looked relieved to see Rose and grinned, knowing what her reappearance meant.

"Ink, you can come back in now. I've made my choice." she announced proudly.

…


	4. Ascension

Rose opened the door wider for Ink, and together they walked back to where the pearls were waiting patiently.

"Series seven, I have some wonderful news: Rose Quartz has decided which of you to take back to the surface with her!" Ink explained gleefully. Her beaming smile was infectious, spreading across the faces of the assembled pearls in no time. "Ma'am, who have you chosen?" she asked, her desire to know which was the lucky pearl as overwhelming as any of the series sevens'.

"You're all so very sweet. I wish I could take you all with me… But there's someone that's touched my gem in the short time that I've been here."

She took a step closer to the pearls. Very gently, she laid her hand on the shoulder of the nervous, brilliant, exceptional pearl in the kimono. Looking deeply into her widened, light blue eyes, Rose asked her a question, a question she suspected no pearl had ever been asked before, and one she felt they shouldn't need to be asked at all.

"Would you like to come to the surface with me?"

…

The room descended into silence.

The other pearls watched in awe, utterly transfixed by the scene in front of them.

The nervous pearl's mouth fell open in stunned surprise.

Ink produced a handkerchief and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

And for a good few moments, nothing else happened... until Rose's soft, easy laughter broke through the silence and filled the air. The melodious noise brought everyone back to the room, ending the peculiar freeze frame.

"You look a lot cuter than I do when I make that face." she said, chuckling as she removed her hand from the pearl's shoulder. Her remark made the pearl blush furiously, this time a deep blue instead of the turquoise from before. She quickly closed her mouth and smiled shyly up at Rose, but still had yet to answer the question.

Setting aside her professional air, Ink addressed the pearl in a noticeably more familial tone than Rose had heard her use before. With an encouraging smile she quietly said, "Ummmm, Pearl? Aren't you going to give her an answer?" as though it was only the two of them in the room.

She glanced at Ink briefly, returning her smile, but the nervous pearl was much too preoccupied with Rose to spare any more than that. Rose laughed again as the pearl turned back to her, looking up at her apprehensively, like she expected some trick to be revealed at any second.

"You don't have to decide right now, if you need some—"

"No," she said abruptly, cutting off the rest of Rose's sentence — it was as though allowing her to finish would revoke the offer, "no ma'am, thank you, I've decided. I... I would be honoured to go to the surface with you."

…

If someone had told her this morning that she would be here, at the Nacrarium, overflowing with joy because this pearl had agreed to go back to the surface with her, Rose would have laughed at them. But now that she was here, and it was actually happening, she knew that there was nowhere else she'd rather be — indeed, nowhere else she could even see herself being.

The pearl's eager response delighted Rose so much because it came from _her_ : any of the other pearls would have also said yes, as going to the surface was virtually the only thing they desired at this point, but the pearl she had chosen was different. Rose knew that she was sharp enough to have considered the very real possibility of being shattered for declining the offer ('because how much use could such an 'impudent' pearl ever be to a collector?'), which at a glance made her question seem needless, there being only one logical answer (for a logical pearl). But the question wasn't needless, not to Rose; she loved the pearls, both as living things and as Gems, and as such she wanted to treat them with the esteem that they deserved. That was why she'd asked the question (despite its drawback), and the fact that the pearl had answered in the way that she had thrilled Rose to the deepest part of her gem.

She would have to thank Blue Diamond most sincerely (though nothing over the top, that might end with an increase in the already precarious familiarity between them. What a disturbing thought…) when she got back, because if not for her interfer… intervention, she would never have met her pearl, or realised just how urgently something needed to be done about the treatment of pearls at the Nacrarium.

'She can wait for a while,' Rose said to herself. What was important now was that her pearl would be returning to the surface with her because she _wanted to_ , and not because she _had_ to.

…

"Yes!" Ink exclaimed, clapping her hands together theatrically. It was her turn to blush when the assembled crowd turned to see what the exclamation was for. "Yes, well… Forgive me, but _this_ , has never happened before. It's just so exciting! Especially because it's you, and unit 7.1.18. It's just perfect!"

"Me and unit... 7.1.18? Is that significant?"

"Ma'am, you're unlike any collector that I've ever had the pleasure of speaking with, and unit 7.1.18 is… special. I don't know how to explain it. She's nothing less than perfect of course," she made sure to inform Rose, "but… It just feels right that you would pick her."

"I see." she replied thoughtfully, smiling fondly at the nervous pearl.

It certainly did feel right.

After a pause in the conversation, Ink turned to Rose's pearl. "Unit 7.1.18, you'll be leaving us pretty soon — if there's anything you need to take with you, now is the time."

The pearl gave a single nod of understanding and hurried off, disappearing around the curve of the circular room.

The 'name' that Ink had been using to address her pearl was getting to Rose, 'They're people, not units of _any_ number.' she thought angrily. It irritated her because it was so degeminizing: in her department they used number codes to identify stars, planets and galaxies, and it appalled her that the pearls at the Nacrarium were being treated in the same way as the celestial bodies that she studied. Apparently, _both_ groups were just 'prospects' or 'articles of interest' — not worthy of real names.

'I have to calm down.' she realised. But there were certain things — not too many, she thought, just the ones that truly mattered — that really inflamed her ire; the setup of the Nacrarium was now one of those things. It wasn't Ink's fault though, and Rose knew that there was nothing to be gained by directing her indignation at her.

"Series seven," Ink continued to the remaining pearls, "thank you for cooperating with our guest, but there's no reason for you to be here anymore. You may return to whatever you were doing before. Unless ma'am has anything else to add?"

"No thank you, Ink. That's all."

She felt bad at their curt dismissal, but there wasn't anything more to add, she had already thanked and wished them well. Strangely, even though they were allowed to leave, the pearls stayed where they were.

"If it's okay with you, we'd like to say goodbye to Pearl… to unit 7.1.18 before she goes, ma'am." said one of the pearls in a strained voice.

This was the second time that Rose had heard unit 7.1.18 referred to as 'pearl' in a way that suggested it was more than an identifier. She wanted to know if that was her name, and if the pearls of the Nacrarium followed the same naming principles as other manufactured Gems.

She had already taken notice of the pearl that had spoken because she resembled the nervous pearl, but it was only now that she was in direct conversation with her that she realised how similar the two actually looked: they both had their gem in the middle of their forehead, they shared the same white skin, their eyes were the same shade of pastel blue and their faces were almost identical; however, this pearl had a shorter, narrower nose, and her eyebrows had a steeper angle, giving her resting face a more serious expression. The only major differences were cosmetic, in their clothes and hair (where Rose's pearl wore her hair in a neat bob, this one wore hers in a fishtail braid) — if they were to dress like each other, Rose expected she might have trouble telling them apart.

"Of course you can say goodbye," she said sympathetically. "You don't need to ask; what sort of person do you think I am?"

"Thank you, ma'am." said the pearl with a look of relief.

"What's your name?"

"Unit 7.1.16, ma'am."

"I couldn't call you that — it's a serial number, not a name. Ink and Moll have names, and you called unit 7.1.18 Pearl, didn't you? Don't you have a name like that?"

"Ink and Moll aren't part of the collector exchange program, ma'am, so they were allowed to choose their own names. We call unit 7.1.18 Pearl informally, but her actual name is unit 7.1.18."

So that _was_ her name. ' _Pearl_ ,' Rose turned it over in her mind. She found it odd: why would they call her Pearl when there were so many pearls in one place? Still, she found it far superior to her 'actual' name. If Pearl had an informal name then it was more than likely that all the series sevens did, Rose regretted not taking the time to ask them earlier.

"Oh. And what do they call you informally?"

"Shell, ma'am."

"May I call you Shell?"

"Of course, ma'am."

"You don't need to keep calling me ma'am," Rose explained; she turned to the group at large, "any of you. I won't be offended so please, just call me Rose." They vocalised their acceptance in unison.

"Good. Now, the rest of you, what do you call each other?" she said with interest.

…

Their names were simple, and it was easy to see where most of them might have come from: Red — whom she had spoken to before — Sunset, and Coral, probably named for their striking red, orange and purple eyes respectively (and Coral's light pink skin); Anemone (who also happened to be pink) perhaps called that because of her short, brightly coloured curls of hair.

She found out that One had obtained her nickname not from being the only green pearl of the series, but because she was the only one that had been cultivated in arc four, wherever (and whatever) arc four was… It made Rose wonder how many arcs there were, and reminded her that the place was in essence a factory (albeit a high class one), just like the kindergartens.

The reappearance of Pearl concluded the introductions, so she didn't learn how Sand or Shell had come by their names.

"Pearl, your friends want to say goodbye to you, so Ink and I will be outside when you're finished." Rose said to Pearl.

"Okay, yes ma'am."

Rose led a mildly surprised Ink out of the room and the two waited outside of one of the stone doors. After a few moments had passed in silence, her long-suffering guide spoke:

"I know that the Authority is covering your exchange fee so this isn't really relevant, but would you like to know the exchange fee for a member of series seven?" she asked excitedly.

Rose frowned, unimpressed that Ink thought that this was something she wanted to talk about. But she was curious — if a little afraid — what they thought the lives of the pearls were worth.

"Why not; what is the exchange fee?"

"Forty million lustre." Ink said with pride.

"Would you like me to tell you something?"

"Yes please!" she said attentively.

"I don't believe that a person's worth can be described by something as simple as an 'exchange fee'. There isn't a price high enough for that." Rose told her. Her short declaration had the intended effect, because after Ink got over her initial shock she went quiet, gazing ahead in a thoughtful sort of way.

Rose smiled briefly — you really couldn't put a price on people… but if they were going to try then forty million lustre sounded like a passable place to start.

…

After five minutes or so of silent waiting, Pearl came out of the room.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but I'm ready now, ma'am."

"You don't need to apologize. I hope you didn't rush your goodbyes."

"No, ma'am. They were as long as they needed to be."

"Okay. And I asked the others to call me Rose; I'd like you to as well." she said, smiling at Pearl.

"Yes… Rose."

"Ink, I think it's about time we were leaving." Rose prompted.

…

For the most part their descent was filled with Ink's gossip about the few collectors that had come to Nacrarium in person, punctuated by the occasional 'yes' and 'mhmmm' from Rose. Apparently wrapped up in her own thoughts, Pearl elected to say nothing — something that didn't trouble Rose at all as she knew there would soon be plenty of opportunity for the two of them to talk.

She remembered going up as taking a lot longer than coming down, the five floor trip they made to the second floor didn't feel as long as it really was (though between the three of them, the amount of excitement in the air hardly made it surprising).

"You're back!" Moll said happily as the three of them approached the central counter, "And you picked unit 7.1.18! She'll be a lot of use to you in particular, ma'am: she's very knowledgeable, she likes to read."

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you Moll."

"You're welcome, ma'am. I hope you didn't have any difficulty in making a selection…"

"No, Pearl made it very easy. I couldn't see myself leaving without her."

"Awwww! That's wonderful! I'm very happy for you both." said the blonde Gem with a dazzling smile. Focusing more on Rose, she went on: "I'm sure you'd like to leave as soon as possible, but I just need to add a few things to our records and then you two can be on your way."

"Okay." said Rose.

"Great." she said, sitting on the chair in front of the computer. Leaning forward, she reached into a draw that Rose couldn't see; when she found what she was looking for, she sat back up and handed Ink a shiny, black rectangle, topped with a small greyish-white cube.

"Thanks." she said, accepting the device. She pressed a hidden button on its side, bringing it to life: the cube began to glow, and a blue dot appeared underneath it to the left. "Pearl, could you tilt your head towards me, I just need to check your gem."

Pearl lowered her head so that her pearl faced Ink directly: the device was held in front of her gem, causing it to glow and the device's dot to flicker. Blue text rained down the screen of the rectangle and Rose looked on with curiosity at the strange spectacle. Near the end of the process a red light appeared next to the blue one, with some red text accompanying it on the screen.

"Okay, Pearl, you can look up now. Moll, take a look at this." Ink said, moving closer to the counter to show her something on the screen.

"Oh… What is it?" Moll asked in a mystified tone.

"I don't know." she replied, similarly amazed. "Pearl, can you come over here please?"

Rose felt as nervous as Pearl looked; she had no idea what was going on, and hoped that whatever they'd found was nothing to be concerned about. When Pearl had moved over to the counter, Ink pointed to something on the screen:

"This article, the computer doesn't recognise it. Do you remember being asked to store anything unusual in your gem?" she asked.

"…No, nobody asked me to…" admitted Pearl. Rose noticed the trouble she was having meeting Ink or Moll's eyes.

"Oh, Pearl…" Ink said in a quiet, slightly fearful way. "You need to tell us what it is."

"Yes, I'm sorry… It's… It isn't on the database because I made it…"

"You _made_ it?" "What does it do?" the older pearls asked incredulously.

"It's a game I read about; I made a board and pieces for it. You play with another person and advance your pieces around the board. You have to capture as many of theirs as you can while simultaneously protecting your own…"

"Pearl, you're not supposed to do things like this, and you _know_ you're not allowed to take items that haven't been accounted for to the collectors." Moll said sternly.

"I know… I just thought that maybe someone might want to play…"

"I'm sorry, but you know I'm going to have to take it off you anyway. …I'm don't even know wh—"

"Wait! We could ask Rose what she wants to do about the game, and about Pearl! I mean, all the checks are for the collectors benefit, and Pearl's collector is here." interjected Ink. Moll turned from Pearl to look at her in surprise, and then at Rose, who gave her a friendly smile.

"Rose?" Moll asked tentatively.

"Yes?" she said, confirming that it was okay for the pearl to address her like that.

"Is this… a problem for you? Would you still like to take unit— would you like to take Pearl with you?"

"Oh absolutely; leaving her here is totally out of the question." Rose replied in a firm yet warm tone, making it clear to everyone that this hadn't changed her mind at all. Truthfully she was proud of her pearl again: a willingness to bend — or even break, as it was — the rules was a quality she admired.

"And the game that she has stored in her gem, would you mind if she brought it with her?"

"Hmmm. I don't see why there'd be any problem with that… as long you teach me how to play." she answered, grinning at Pearl, who looked very pleased at the outcome of the conversation.

"Oh yes, definitely." she said.

"Well then, that's fine. Rose, let me get you something." Moll suggested.

With everyone else in such high spirits, Moll seemed to realise that there was no need to be so serious. She walked from where she was to the opposite side of the counter and back, producing a small, pale green book upon her return. "Please accept this short guide on pearls, compliments of the Nacrarium!" she said, thrusting the book at Rose enthusiastically.

"Thank you."

'Instruction manual.' was the only thing that Rose could think of as she briefly flicked through the book. Deciding that there was more to be found out about Pearl by talking to her that by reading any book, she closed it; there was little doubt that Pearl knew everything about herself that was covered in it anyway, and she was confident that Pearl would show her anything important when she felt comfortable doing so. Any of her gifts not mentioned in the book, well… they'd find them together, wouldn't they?

Rose's transition from Blue Diamond's office to the Nacrarium had been so rapid that she hadn't had time to get her bag — fortunately, Pearl offered her a solution before holding the little book became tiresome:

"Excuse me, Rose. Would you like me to store the book for you?"

"If you don't mind, that would be very helpful. Thank you." she said, handing the book to Pearl.

Like before, she carried out a sequence of arcane hand gestures and light began to radiate from her pearl. Rose didn't think she would ever get tired of the little show, thoroughly entertained as Pearl brought the now glowing book up to her forehead and made it disappear into her pocket dimension.

"Everything is complete now; you and Pearl are all ready to go!" Moll announced.

"Thank you, Moll. And thank you for all your help, Ink. You've been a very informative and patient guide. I hope that one day that we'll meet again."

"Thank _you_ ," she said with a curtsey and a huge, satisfied smile, "but I was just doing my job. And I hope so as well." After hugging Pearl (who's awkward response made Rose laugh) she said to her, "It's sad to see you go, but I'm really glad that you're going with Rose… You're going to be a tribute to your name on the surface, I know it."

Moll also hugged Pearl, leaning over the counter to do so. "Bye, Pearl. I'm going to miss you, and our conversations, and your dancing. I'll never forget you."

"Goodbye, both of you. And thank you for everything." said Pearl.

"You're welcome." they said together.

Rose began to walk away from the counter to the central part of the room, which hid the slope to the first floor.

"Rose, don't you want to warp back to the shore?" called Ink.

"No, thanks. I'd like to take a walk with Pearl." she called back.

…

The Nacrarium's imposing, intricate gate closed behind them, leaving the pair alone on the long thoroughfare back to the beach. At last, it was just Rose and Pearl.

Pearl's reverent contemplation of her surroundings did not go unnoticed to Rose: her eyes darted around, drinking in everything the ocean had to offer. It was so simple, yet one of the most beautiful things that Rose had ever seen.

"It's extraordinary isn't it? To think that these are the first steps of our adventure together… How do you feel?"

"I feel… complete. I'm excited... to finally be out here, with you. I want to be useful. I—"

Rose watched as Pearl raised her hand to her eye and quickly ran her fingers across it with a loud sniff. She wasn't as good at hiding it as she probably thought she was, because Rose could plainly see that she was crying. They only managed a few more steps before Pearl stopped, quite without warning, and brought her hands up to her face: she shuddered, and the quiet of the path was interrupted by the breathy, uneven sounds she made.

For the moment it didn't matter _why_ she was crying, only that she was. Instinctively, Rose moved to comfort the smaller Gem, gently guiding her hands away from her face, before encircling her in her arms, drawing her into a warm embrace. From the way that Pearl stiffened in surprise Rose expected that this was a relatively new experience for her, but she got the hang of it soon enough, putting her arms around Rose's middle and holding onto her tightly.

"It's alright… Everything's going to be alright, you just let it all out." Rose said soothingly, stroking her hair as the pearl sobbed into her dress.

They stayed like that for a long time. It was a small thing to be able to comfort her, but Rose understood just how important the small things were sometimes. She was willing to spend as long as necessary cradling her new friend if it would make her feel better.

Finally, she let go of Rose. Rubbing the last tears from her eyes she said:

"Thank you. I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. I don't normally do things like that… There's just so much, all at once… and it —and _you_ , you're just so different from what I expected, but you're so much more: you're so considerate, even though you barely know me…"

"I don't need to know you to be considerate. You're alive and you have feelings, _that's_ what counts. …But what _were_ you expecting?" she asked, curious to know how Pearl had imagined her before today.

"Umm…," Pearl hesitated, colour coming into her cheeks, "I expected a collector more in keeping with the archetype… but you don't treat us like they've always taught us the collectors would."

"Pearl, from now on I don't want you to think of me as your collector, because you're not a 'thing' to be collected by anyone. I know how proud you must be to be a pearl, but that isn't all you are: you're a Gem at the same time — a unique, complicated person. That's how I see you, and that's how I'm going to treat you."

On hearing those words Pearl looked happier than Rose had seen her all day (even if she did look like she'd been crying…). "Okay." she said firmly. Rose could see the gratitude on her face and in her eyes. She wondered if she was going to cry again.

Then there was a break in the conversation, long enough for Rose to remember that she'd wanted to find out if the origin of Pearl's name was as obvious as it sounded (something she doubted highly, knowing what she knew about her).

"Shell told me that they call you Pearl, so I've been calling you that because I didn't like unit 7.1.18: it just sounds… wrong. But is that okay? Is Pearl what _you'd_ like to be called?"

"Pearl is just an informal name, you wouldn't have heard it if you hadn't made a personal visit. The collector is supposed to give us a new name, if they wish to…" Pearl admitted sheepishly. "Are you… going to give me a new name?" she added cautiously.

'You haven't answered the question, you silly thing.' Rose thought. But she was prepared for this kind of answer from her at this stage: she didn't know how long Pearl had lived at the Nacrarium, but it was probably long enough that she wouldn't change her thinking in a single afternoon. She switched to a different angle:

"Why do they call you Pearl?"

A faint swathe of turquoise crept across Pearl's face, and she eyed Rose nervously before responding.

"Sometimes I… I compare myself to the others. I'm one of them, because we're all part of the same series, but it doesn't feel that way. I asked them to call me Pearl because I'm sure that's how it works on the surface: you're Rose Quartz because of your gem, I picked Pearl because of mine. It reminds me that I'm still one of them, even though I'm… different. That I _am_ fit to be part of the program."

"I thought your informal name might have a deeper meaning than your actual name." Rose said after listening to what Pearl had said. "And no, I was never going to give you a new one, and it turns out that you didn't need one. You already have one, a good one."

Pearl gave her a big smile.

"But you could think of Rose Quartz as an informal name as well, it's just a shortening of my full name."

"What _is_ your full name?" asked an interested Pearl.

…

Rose went through her name with her, using it to illustrate the conventions of naming for naturally formed Gems. When she had finished and Pearl didn't respond, she was going to ask if she wanted her to explain again, but it turned out that Pearl had not only understood her, but applied it to herself:

"Pearl the Unfaceted, of the House of Quartz, of the Nacrarium, Series Seven, Arc One, Number Eighteen. Would that be correct?"

"There isn't really a 'correct' when it comes to names, but it certainly fits well. Except… I don't think that there's ever been a pearl in the House of Quartz before…"

Pearl looked disappointed.

"Don't worry, there isn't a rule against it — you could be the first! But you don't have to, you know. I don't expect that pearls have an identifier like that, you could create your own if you wanted."

"If it's okay, I'd like to take on that part of your name… in honour of you choosing me."

"You're so sweet, Pearl. But me choosing you is only half the story; you accepted… Really, we chose each other. I'll tell you what, we'll share it; it'll be _our_ name. How does that sound?"

"It sounds perfect."

"I think so too. It'll be late when we get back though, so tomorrow I'll make some time for us to go the Registry and have you inducted."

Pearl looked at her adoringly, and the pink-haired Gem carefully wiped the new tear that had begun its journey down her face. Though it was a tear of joy, Rose could feel that there was still something worrying her.

"What's the matter, Pearl?" she asked softly, looking into her vivid blue eyes.

"Nothing… I'm fine, really." she answered, her smile letting Rose know that she was okay. "It's just… what am I going to do on the surface?"

"You mean, for me?"

"Yes."

"I was hoping that you'd be interested in what I do — you could help me and my team with our work."

"Really?"

"Yes. I've already seen how intelligent you are, and I think you'd be a real asset, given a few years to learn from us. The engineers especially would love you."

"Oh… thank you!" Pearl said, blushing her now characteristic blush at the compliment. "Yes, I'd like to help you, I've always been interested in space, and space travel. I've been trying to learn, but the books at the Nacrarium don't go into enough detail about most of the necessary subjects. Collectors don't expect us to learn things like that."

"The collectors have never met _you_ before. If they knew what I knew they'd adjust their expectations very soon. …Have you ever worn a jumpsuit before?"

"Is that… relevant?" asked Pearl, puzzled by the apparently random nature of Rose's question.

"It is if you're going on a starship." Rose replied. She had to laugh at Pearl's wide-eyed reaction to the statement; the hope that she meant what Pearl thought she was suggesting was unmistakable. She continued:

"In about a year, we'll be going to have a closer look at some planets in this beautiful spiral galaxy we've been studying. The journey will be quite long, but you're really enthusiastic, and I'd hate to have to leave you so soon after we've met. I'd like you to come with us, what do you think?"

…


End file.
